Ethnographic methods in cross-cultural research

Abstract

Cross-cultural ethnographic research, including using comparative data from multiple sites or groups, can help describe cultural variability, identify cross-cultural patterning, and test new theories about globalising phenomena. We describe procedures for cross-cultural ethnographic research designed to enable simultaneously within-site thematic analysis and cross-site metatheme analysis. We also cover some related foundations of ethnographic study design, including site selection and sampling, and approaches to data collection for key methods such as participant observation, interviewing, and group discussions, and make observations about protocol development. For example, for multi-sited comparative projects, we recommend a team-based coding and thematic analysis approach. We also consider how common approaches to ethnographic write-up, including thick description and exemplars, can be modified for cross-cultural research. Generally, there are few examples of detailed metathematic analysis, and much room for innovation in methods for detecting, comparing, and integrating metathemes and submetathemes.